I'm not exactly sure what sparked the idea, but this recipe is basically a mash-up of a red velvet cupcake and the ever-popular black bottom cheesecake cupcake. I first posted it back in 2008, and then, as tends to happen around here, I got distracted by other recipes and never circled back to update it properly. No new photos, no notes. Until now.
These are less sweet than typical red velvet cupcakes and have a slightly tart flavor to them. Plus, they're a little different. It's nice to try new things once in a while, right? And these are extremely simple. In fact, you don't need a mixer. I used a couple of bowls and a spoon.
The original recipe yielded 8 cheesecake cups in my kitchen, but others who tried the recipe were getting 9. My cupcake cups or papers can run a little large sometimes. I've since updated the recipe so you should get at least 10.
How to Make Red Velvet Cheesecake Cups
I've since put this recipe in a recipe card that's printable, but here's the recipe at a glance with the doubled filling.
Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Batter:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoon all purpose flour (5 oz)
2 teaspoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ plus ⅛ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil
⅔ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon red food coloring
¾ teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons mini white or chocolate chips (optional)
Recipe Steps
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 10 muffin cups with paper liners.
Prepare filling first. With a mixing spoon or an electric mixer or your favorite heavy duty scraper, beat together softened cream cheese and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and stir until smooth. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
In a second mixing bowl, stir together oil, sugar, vinegar, egg, red food coloring, vanilla, sour cream and milk. Mix very well, then add flour mixture and stir just until blended.
Measure out approximately ⅓ cup red mixture and set aside. You can do this physically or mentally. Make a note in your head that you need to hold some back to swirl on top.
Divide remaining red mixture among the muffin cups - each cup should be a around ⅓ of the way full. Spoon cream cheese mixture over red mixture, dividing evenly between all cups. Drop small bits of reserved red batter on top of cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle mini chips over (optional)
Bake for 20-23 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Carefully remove lift muffins from cups.
Best serve slightly chilled. - Makes 10
Recipe Updates
Update: This recipe has been here for 18 years now so I figured I'd update it. Updates are listed above the recipe card.
- Doubled the cream cheese filling so you'll have plenty
- Changed the filling egg measurement to 1 yolk
- Added 1 tablespoon of whole milk to the red batter
- Added some optional mini chocolate and white chocolate chips
- Put in a measurement for Super Red, my favorite red food coloring
- The increased filling plus the extra milk should stretch to 10 cheesecake cups
Recipe
Small Batch Red Velvet Cream Cheese Cupcakes aka Cheesecake Cups
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl, plus some small bowls
- 1 heavy duty scraper
- 1 muffin tin plus paper liners
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling (Makes a little more than needed, but gives you plenty)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, very well softened (228 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 1 large egg yolk (16 to 18 grams)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla, especially clear if you have some
Red Velvet Batter
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (140 grams)
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder (4 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon plus ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil, neutral like grapeseed or sunflower
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (130 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon red food coloring or 1 teaspoon Super Red
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons sour cream (42 grams)
- 1 tablespoon whole milk (15 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 10 muffin cups with paper liners.
- Prepare filling first. With a mixing spoon, heavy duty scraper or an electric mixer, beat together softened cream cheese and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and stir until smooth. Set aside.
- In any bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together oil, sugar, vinegar, egg yolk, red food coloring, vanilla, sour cream and milk. Mix very well, then add the flour mixture and stir just until blended.
- Measure out approximately ⅓ cup red mixture and set aside. You can do this physically or mentally. Make a note in your head that you need to hold some back to swirl on top.
- Divide remaining red mixture among the muffin cups - each cup should be around ⅓ of the way full. An Oxo medium size cookie scoop worked well for scoop/spooning the batter. It's a thick but not dry batter, maybe a little looser than muffin batter but not liquid like cake batter.
- Spoon cream cheese mixture over red mixture, dividing evenly between all cups. Drop tiny bits of reserved red batter on top of cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with mini white or chocolate chips (optional)
- Bake for 20 to 23 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Carefully remove lift muffins from cups. Let cool.
- Best served slightly chilled.
Lily says
I just made these and they were delicious! The only thing is the middle sank in. I'm not sure what I did wrong??
Anna says
Domestic Oregon Mom, if you read this, shoot me an email so we can have a discussion. I would really appreciate it if you at least attempted to reference sources since these ideas didn't come straight from your head and since you've used my directions verbatim. Please note you even copied my typos. You might want to fix where it says "Carefully remove lift muffins from cups." That's my typo, not yours!
Mandy says
Another blogger has taken this recipe and posted it as her own: domesticblissinoregon.blogspot.com/2010/02/red-velvet-crm-cheese-cuppys.html
I started checking her out since she has also taken some of my own work and published it as her own.
She has disabled comments and does not have her email on her profile...I wonder why...
As of yesterday, she had her profile posted on her blog and it said "unless otherwise noted, all recipes are my own". I've been asking around trying to contact her and she has removed her profile link this morning.
So, if you find a way to contact her, please let me know! I'd like to tell her so stop stealing other people's work.
I saw that she is listed on the Foodie Blogroll, I will be contacting them to complain since none of her recipes are her own and she does not credit any sources.
Ann C says
Yesterday, out of the blue, I combined a red velvet cupcake recipe with a black bottom cupcake recipe, and came up with a very similar result! Mine were a deeper red, I used 1oz of red food coloring for 12 cupcakes. I also made three layers; a little red on the bottom, then a dollop of the cheesecake filling, a sprinkle of chopped semi-sweet chocolate, then I tried to cover everything with the remaining red batter. Then, although they didn't need it, I topped them with cream cheese frosting swirls. OMG, that put them over the top! Anyway, I'm glad to see someone else came up with the same recipe, but I'm shocked it hasn't become immensely popular!
Actually, I don't know what a "cheesecake cup" is, but I'm assuming a greased muffin pan lined with paper baking cups gives the same result.
Monica H says
Anna, I just blogged about these and loved them. They are so pretty and I love anything red velvet so they were a hit. The only thing I would change next time is to add more filling as that could only make them better.
Thank you!
Patricia Scarpin says
This is beautiful, Anna! I have never tried red velvet cakes.
Chris C-L says
Do I have to get back on my boiled frosting soapbox? Make the boiled frosting for red velvet cake....save the cream cheese frosting for carrot cake 🙂 (Anna is going to kick me out of here one of these days!)
Katrina says
I'm not really sure I've ever really had red velvet cake and have a bunch of cream cheese to use up. Might have to give these a try. I hear so many people saying how red velvet cake is their favorite!
Anna says
Judi, you could even cut this recipe down to 4 cakes. Just follow the recipe as written but cut everything in half (1 1/2 tablespoons egg).
Anna says
VG and Rebecca,
I thought they were good, but I need a second opinion.
Emma, thanks so much for the nice comment. I didn't realize there were such things as baking groups on Live Journal. Cool.
Also, since you've never tried red velvet, you might want to try the actual cake before you try my mutant cupcakes. ;). Below is a link to a Martha Stewart recipe which has received good reviews. Plus it is made with self-rising flour, which you are probably used to in the UK. The brand used in this cake is White Lily, which is lighter and made with a softer wheat. So unless the self-rising flour you use in the UK is very light, I would use 2 1/4 cups self-rising flour or weigh out 284 grams (10 oz).
To sum it up, just use 10 oz (284 grams) of self-rising flour and you should be fine.
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/rachels-red-velvet-cake?autonomy_kw=red%20velvet%20cake&rsc=header_2
judi0044 says
I very much appreciate when a recipe can be cut down - and knowing it will work out. With a small family it's hard to try everything you'd like if you end up with too much and noone to share it with. Thanks again for another inspiration!
Emma says
I've been looking at your blog for inspiration since someone mentioned it on a Livejournal baking group, and thought it was about time I let you know what a great site it is. I've tried lots of recipes from here and they've all turned out great - I've never tried red velvet, so I'll have to try these, too. They look lovely 🙂
rebecca says
they look really cool, and sound really awesome. i am going to bookmark this one and cross my fingers that i can find the time to make it.
VeggieGirl says
Oooh, what a decadent goodie and experiment! :0)